Wildlife biologist salary

Who actually pays the most

These are median wages for the same occupation, split by the industry doing the hiring. The spread between the top and bottom is larger than the difference between this job and many of the trades on this site.

The spread is wide, and the degree does not guarantee the top of it

The middle of this occupation is $76,780. The bottom tenth earn under $49,100 and the top tenth over $126,440 — a spread of $77,340, which is wider than the entire median wage of several seasonal outdoor jobs.

A bachelor's degree is the typical entry requirement, and BLS records no required prior work experience and no on-the-job training for the occupation. That combination is unusual, and it cuts both ways: the door opens on the strength of the degree alone, and the degree alone does not move you up the range. What moves you up is the employer type above, plus a master's for most research and senior agency roles.

What the work actually is

Zoologists and wildlife biologists study animals in captivity and in the wild, and how they interact with their ecosystems. In practice that splits into field seasons — surveys, trapping and tagging, telemetry, habitat assessment — and a great deal of desk work: data analysis, permit applications, and writing reports that other people will act on.

BLS records that most work full time and that schedules become irregular during fieldwork. Field seasons are the part people picture and the smaller part of the year. If the appeal is being outdoors most days rather than analysing what you collected, a park ranger or forestry technician role is closer to that.

This is one of the few jobs on this site that genuinely requires a degree. Most of the others do not, which is why it does not appear on our no-degree list.

How small the occupation is

There are 19,500 wildlife biologists in the United States, projected to reach 20,200 by 2035 — growth of 4%, or about 700 additional jobs across an entire decade. BLS projects roughly 1,400 openings a year, and says most of those come from people retiring or moving to other work rather than from new positions.

For context, the wider life sciences group is projected to grow 9% over the same period, and all occupations together 3%. Wildlife biology grows more slowly than the science field it sits inside. That does not make it a bad career, but it does mean openings are contested, and a plan that depends on one agency hiring in one state in one year is fragile.

Where the jobs are

• State fish and wildlife agencies — the largest single route in. Each state runs its own recruitment; there is no national list.
• Federal — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USGS, NOAA Fisheries, Forest Service and the National Park Service, all posted on USAJOBS. Federal science roles sit on the GS scale, typically GS-5 to GS-9 at entry depending on degree level.
• Environmental consultancies — the highest-paying group in the table above, and the least discussed. Work is driven by the surveys that development and permitting legally require.
• Universities — research and extension posts, usually needing a master's or doctorate beyond entry level.
• Conservation non-profits — the lowest-paying group, and often the most competitive, because it is where most applicants want to be.

Common questions

Sources